Author: Mary Pat Campbell

Illinois’ budget problems won’t be fixed without change in revenue structure

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.dailyherald.com/discuss/20210212/illinois-budget-problems-wont-be-fixed-without-change-in-revenue-structure#new_tab

Excerpt:

For starters, it left Illinois stuck with its long-standing, flat rate income tax. This outcome was something other than desirable, given the central role this flat rate income tax has played in driving Illinois’ incessant, and substantial, General Fund deficits.

How substantial? Current estimates are the General Fund deficit will reach $13 billion by the end of FY 2022 — which means Illinois won’t have the revenue needed to cover almost half of anticipated FY 2022 expenditures on services. That’s a real cause for concern, given over 95 percent of all General Fund spending on services goes to the four, core areas of education, health care, human services, and public safety.

Sure, a portion of this deficit will resolve itself once the revenue shortfalls caused by the pandemic end. That said, the crux of Illinois’ fiscal problems have nothing to do with COVID-19, and everything to do with structural flaws in the state’s tax policy — the flat rate income tax being key among them.

Author(s): Ralph Martire

Publication Date: 12 February 2021

Publication Site: Daily Herald

More people died on Illinois roads last year than since 2007. Is the pandemic to blame?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-illinois-more-traffic-deaths-pandemic-20210212-4ybopm6pvbelpeorspd3cxm7gy-htmlstory.html#new_tab

Excerpt:

Nearly 160 more people died on Illinois roads last year than in 2019, making 2020 the deadliest year for Illinois drivers in 13 years, a surge officials say may have been fed by drivers speeding on roads left open by motorists who stayed home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

About 1,166 people died in motor vehicle crashes in Illinois in 2020, a nearly 16% increase over 2019, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation. That’s a provisional number, said IDOT spokesperson Guy Tridgell, since it takes the state agency 12-18 months to finalize annual data.

Illinois traffic fatalities haven’t been that high since 2007, when 1,248 people died, according to recent and historic state data. Deaths include drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.

Author(s): LESLIE BONILLA

Publication Date: 12 February 2021

Publication Site: Chicago Tribune

Improving on perfection — where next for the spreadsheet?

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://medium.com/dawn-capital/improving-on-perfection-where-next-for-the-spreadsheet-7e15c99e7e5c

Graphic:

Excerpt:

The sheer versatility and accessibility of the spreadsheet has made it the Swiss Army Knife of modern day productivity, inserting itself into almost every workflow across every industry. Over the past three decades, spreadsheets have become the de facto way for information to be collected, distributed and analysed.

But, as our operational and computational needs become ever greater, the limits of Excel become clear, and opportunities emerge for companies and tools to replace the spreadsheet.

Author(s): Dawn Capital

Publication Date: 16 December 2021

Publication Site: Medium

Spreadsheet Wars: Excel vs Lotus 1-2-3

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://archive.org/details/CC606_spreadsheet_wars

Excerpt:

Excel now dominates the spreadsheet world, but once upon a time there was actual competition among spreadsheet products. This program looks at Quattro 1.0, Allways 1.0, Lotus 1-2-3 3.0, Ashton-Tate’s Full Impact, and Excel 2.1. Guests include Gary Kildall, Jan Lewis, and Jared Taylor of PC Magazine. Originally broadcast in 1988.

Author(s): PBS – Computer Chronicles

Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_Chronicles

Publication Date: 1988

Publication Site: PBS at archive.org

Cuomo Accuses NY Lawmakers of ‘Extortion’ Over Calls to Investigate Nursing Home Deaths

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/cuomo-accuses-ny-lawmakers-of-extortion-over-calls-to-investigate-nursing-home-deaths/

Excerpt:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday blasted state lawmakers who have threatened to rescind his emergency powers and open investigations into his administration’s coverup of its mishandling of nursing home coronavirus deaths.

“You can’t use a subpoena or the threat of investigation to leverage a person,” Cuomo said in a briefing on Monday. “That’s a crime, it’s called abuse of process, it’s called extortion.”

He also defended his earlier policy that forced nursing homes to accept coronavirus-positive patients after they were discharged from hospitals, saying that it was not sick residents who spread the virus within the nursing homes amid New York’s first wave in the spring, but visitors and staff.

Of 613 nursing homes in the state, 365 received a COVID-positive patient from the hospital, Cuomo said. Ninety-eight percent of nursing homes that admitted a patient from the hospital already had COVID in their facility before the patient was admitted, he said.

Author(s): Brittany Bernstein

Publication Date: 15 February 2021

Publication Site: National Review

GameStop frenzy mastermind Roaring Kitty will testify in Congress on Thursday alongside the Reddit and Robinhood CEOs and two hedge fund managers after amateur traders pushed shares up 1,800% and cost Wall Street $19billion

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9259527/YouTube-streamer-Roaring-Kitty-testify-GameStop-alongside-hedge-fund-managers.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus

Excerpt:

The YouTube streamer known as Roaring Kitty, who helped drive a surge of interest in GameStop Corp , will testify before a House panel on Thursday alongside top hedge fund managers.

The House Financial Services Committee is examining how a flood of retail trading drove GameStop and other shares to extreme highs, squeezing hedge funds like Melvin Capital that had bet against it.

The witness list was announced on Friday by Representative Maxine Waters and includes Keith Gill, who also goes by Roaring Kitty, Robinhood Chief Executive Vlad Tenev, Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, Melvin CEO Gabriel Plotkin and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.

Author(s): REUTERS and JOSH BOSWELL

Publication Date: 14 February 2021

Publication Site: Daily Mail UK

Fury at ‘do not resuscitate’ notices given to Covid patients with learning disabilities

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/new-do-not-resuscitate-orders-imposed-on-covid-19-patients-with-learning-difficulties

Excerpt:

People with learning disabilities have been given do not resuscitate orders during the second wave of the pandemic, in spite of widespread condemnation of the practice last year and an urgent investigation by the care watchdog.

Mencap said it had received reports in January from people with learning disabilities that they had been told they would not be resuscitated if they were taken ill with Covid-19.

The Care Quality Commission said in December that inappropriate Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR) notices had caused potentially avoidable deaths last year.

DNACPRs are usually made for people who are too frail to benefit from CPR, but Mencap said some seem to have been issued for people simply because they had a learning disability. The CQC is due to publish a report on the practice within weeks.

Author(s): James Tapper

Publication Date: 13 February 2021

Publication Site: The Guardian

‘Do not resuscitate’ orders caused potentially avoidable deaths, regulator finds

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/03/do-not-resuscitate-orders-caused-potentially-avoidable-deaths-regulator-finds

Excerpt:

Do-not-resuscitate orders were wrongly allocated to some care home residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, causing potentially avoidable deaths, the first phase of a review by England’s Care Quality Commission has found.

The regulator warned that some of the “inappropriate” do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) notices applied in the spring may still be in place and called on all care providers to check with the person concerned that they consent.

The review was prompted by concerns about the blanket application of the orders in care homes in the early part of the pandemic, amid then prevalent fears that NHS hospitals would be overwhelmed.

Author(s): Robert Booth

Publication Date: 2 December 2020

Publication Site: The Guardian

Lawmakers Propose Early Retirement Incentives for Public Workers

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/central-ny/ny-state-of-politics/2021/02/04/lawmakers-propose-early-retirement-incentives-for-public-workers

Excerpt:

Public workers in New York could have an incentive to retire early under a proposal by a pair of state lawmakers unveiled on Thursday. 

The bill backed by Sen. Peter Harckham and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti would create early retirement incentives for workers 55 and older who have 10 years of service with state or workers with 25 years of government service. A separate bill that covers early retirement for public workers in New York City was previously introduced. 

The bill comes as local government finances have been scrambled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenue from the sales tax, for instance, dropped 10% statewide. 

Author(s): NICK REISMAN

Publication Date: 4 February 2021

Publication Site: Spectrum News

‘Twindemic’ Averted: Not Much Flu In Mass., And Record Low Rates Across The Nation

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wbur.org/commonhealth/2021/02/10/record-low-flu-rates-massachusetts?linkId=111349310

Graphic:

Excerpt:

Federal flu maps use a traffic-light color scheme — green when flu is low, yellow when it’s medium and red when it’s high. Here in Massachusetts and around the country, the maps would normally show plenty of yellow and red by February. But this year they’re pure green.

And it’s not just flu that’s low. Dr. Eileen Costello, the chief of ambulatory pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, says it’s other viruses as well.

“We have seen dramatically reduced rates of influenza this year and respiratory synctitial virus, which is a viral infection of infants and very young children that we see,” she says. “It’s the meat and potatoes of every pediatric practice in America, and we’re not seeing it at all this year.

Author(s): Carey Goldberg

Publication Date: 10 February 2021

Publication Site: WBUR

How Much Does a C-Section Cost? At One Hospital, Anywhere From $6,241 to $60,584.

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-much-does-a-c-section-cost-at-one-hospital-anywhere-from-6-241-to-60-584-11613051137

Excerpt:

When a woman gets a caesarean section at the gleaming new Van Ness location of Sutter Health’s California Pacific Medical Center, the price might be $6,241. Or $29,257. Or $38,264. It could even go as high as $60,584.

The rate the hospital charges depends on the insurance plan covering the birth. At the bottom end of the scale is a local health plan that serves largely Medicaid recipients. At the top are prices for women whose plans don’t have the San Francisco hospital in their insurers’ network.

The nation’s roughly 6,000 hospitals have begun to reveal the secret rates they negotiate with insurers for a range of procedures. The data offer the first full look inside the confidential deals that set healthcare rates for insurers and employers covering more than 175 million Americans. The submissions also illuminate how widely prices vary—even for the same procedure, performed in the same facility—depending on who is paying.

Author(s): Anna Wilde Mathews, Tom McGinty and Melanie Evans

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal

Lower-Income Covid-19 Aid Recipients Seen Boosting Consumer Spending

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.wsj.com/articles/lower-income-covid-19-aid-recipients-seen-boosting-consumer-spending-11613298600?mod=djemwhatsnews

Excerpt:

Early signs point to an uptick in consumer spending at the start of the year, particularly by lower- and middle-income households receiving payments through the most recent Covid-19 relief package.

Spending by consumers who make less than $60,000 a year jumped by more than 20% in the week ended Jan. 10—the week after the U.S. Treasury Department began electronically sending stimulus payments of $600 per adult and $600 per child for individuals with adjusted gross incomes under $75,000—according to the research group Opportunity Insights’ tracker of figures from Affinity Solutions, which collects consumer credit- and debit-card spending data.

Author(s): Harriet Torry

Publication Date: 14 February 2021

Publication Site: Wall Street Journal